Tantalizing the Senses
by xtwilightzx
Summary: Six oneshots for the six senses. Sixth Sense: "I have no idea how 'we' work," Watanuki mumbled. "I have no idea why a 'we' even exists at all. Except that there is a 'we'." DoumekiWatanuki
1. Sight

**Tantalizing the Senses  
Chapter 1 – Sight **

**AN: **For someone who doesn't 'ship Dou/Wata at all, I certainly find myself writing them a lot… So enjoy, Emi-prey-chan, and Happy Birthday! If writing were a sin, then you are surely the little devil on my shoulder.

I follow the manga as it is being released in Japan, so there will be mild spoilers – nothing overt – for up to around chapter 120. Also, these shots follow an evolution of Doumeki and Watanuki's relationship, so this is starting out slow and easy, with the more interesting interactions to come with the other senses.

_**xxxHoLiC belongs to the brilliance that is CLAMP. **_

**..sight..**

Watanuki was long past the days when he was startled every time he saw a spirit or some slinky shadow at the edge of his vision. He was nothing but a trooper, despite his placid personality and deceptively bendable will and understood the concept of _survival of the fittest_ very well; years surviving on his own and dodging hungry spirits hammered that lesson hard.

It was much, much easier to simply back away slowly rather than draw attention to his presence with a shout. Watanuki had enough brushes with the _other _world to know that each one was a potentially lethal one.

Of course, he still had knee-jerk reflex of jumping out of his wits every time a big stormy cloudy blob swamped around him, but that was only common sense – he didn't want to become a ghost and have Yuuko laugh her head off at how he had been digested by a _cloud_, of all things. Because if there was one thing Watanuki could count on, it was that Yuuko will never allow him to rest in peace. Once she had her claws snagged on some poor person's clothes, that soul would be ensnared in the greater scheme of Yuuko's plans, whatever they may be.

_Stick with Doumeki-kun, she had said, a fox-like grin adorning the curve of her lips, and you'll find that spirits bother you less._

That was the problem. It's what he didn't see these days that bothered him more than the ghostly creatures that used to haunt his general vicinity.

Watanuki stared daggers into the back of Doumeki's head, and wondered if the constant spectacle of that immaculate black hair and that bland, utterly unruffled face was a fair tradeoff.

Sometimes, the only way to notice something is to take it away and leave a gaping absence in its wake. There was always a constant pressure, of knowing, of _seeing_ something others couldn't; not seeing them was like being given a breath of air after being submerged in water, a welcome respite Watanuki couldn't help gulping down at first.

Now, it was strange, because his right eye sometimes saw right past the flickering shadow, and all his left eye registered was a flat one dimensional image of the spirit. Watanuki had his foot firmly planted in two different worlds, straddling two different sets of senses, sometimes unable to reconcile the two scenarios he was presented. It was a wonder he never quite drove himself crazy when his vision _splintered_, his brain struggling to dissociate and follow both; the headaches he received were quite spectacular.

Subconsciously, Watanuki found himself trailing Doumeki, invariably ending up at the same destination. He felt more at ease, the subtle pressure on his right eye dissolving when they stared in the same direction; if the other just _shut up _and stopped smirking for a while, it was almost pleasant to be around him if it meant extinguishing those irritating split-visions.

He wondered if Doumeki experienced the disconcerting effects of double vision, wondered if Doumeki ever saw himself out of what was now Watanuki's eye. If there was any of the sort, Watanuki couldn't pick it out; it was ironic that possessing one of the man's eye didn't allow Watanuki to read Doumeki any better.

"Hey. What will you do if you couldn't see spirits one day?"

"Laugh and rejoice, of course. That's a stupid question to ask, even coming from you."

"I'm not the stupid one who can see ghosts. That's the point – I can't, that's why I'm asking _you._ Idiot."

"_What did you say?!_ And there's a point in there? _Really_, I swear it's like trying to find reason in Yuuko-san's madness: there isn't any!"

"Don't be surprise if she overheard you somehow and is ready to sic a vicious assignment on you for that comment. Anyway. You can't see them, but you'll still _know _they're there, right? Being able to see them means being forewarned."

He pondered the idea long and hard, then. Watanuki wondered if it would be like how the blind felt, to have experienced the rush of bright colors, stark and yet so often overlooked, only to have that lovely canvas snatched away by darkness. He _loathed_ his other vision – it wasn't like it was a positive thing to have – but it didn't bring grief to him every time. There was the parasite wings, the snake spirit and Jorougumo, who ruled the spiders and took his eye, and then there was Zashiki Warashi and Kudakitsune, and the dozens of other friendly spirits he had met.

Did the friendly spirits outweigh the deadly ones he always seemed to gravitate to? Watanuki didn't know. Slowly but surely, however, Doumeki was dragging him across the border towards the world of the normal, and just as slowly, Watanuki was beginning to think that he wasn't ready to be normal, at least, not for now.

Normal meant not seeing anything, and Watanuki didn't like the vast emptiness that marked their time together even though he should, because it was peaceful, and time spent with Doumeki was _never_ supposed to be that.

**..end..**

**More AN:** I've looked over this several times, but the Doumeki/Watanuki pairing is one I don't identify with much, so please, shout my way if I've written them OOC or if you think my characterization of their relationship is off.

I am currently working on NaNoWriMo for all of November; so… new sense-chapter will be added every five or so days to allow for minor rewrites and editing. As always, reviews and con/crit are much beloved.


	2. Sound

**Tantalizing the Senses  
Chapter 2 – Sound **

**AN:** I hope people enjoy this next piece.

As always, I follow the manga as it is being released in Japan, so there will be mild spoilers – nothing overt – for up to around chapter 120. Also gracious use of artistic license with certain things shown in this one-shot.

_**xxxHoLiC belongs to the brilliance that is CLAMP. **_

**..sound..**

Doumeki took fierce pride in the old shrine he inhabited, not just out of respect for his grandfather, but because the area had such a resounding aura of tranquility. Stepping past the ornate gates into the shrine grounds was like sliding between warm comforters on a cold winter's night; it was incredibly comfortable, and like magic, the chatter-bustle-clanking of city life simply disappeared.

Here, nature sang in quiet harmony, the soft trickle of flowing water humming quietly in his ears, while the soft tinkle of wind chimes added a high counterpart to the melody. The rustle of leaf and grass, the quiet chitter of birds and squirrels and the whisper of wind in his ears was undertone accompaniments. His steps rang like silver bells, wooden shoes hitting polished stone rhythmically.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and allowing the minute sounds ground him to earth as he sent his thoughts inwards to that swirling pool of energy innate within him.

Doumeki couldn't see spirits, couldn't feel them beyond a chilling cold, but sometimes, if he listened long enough, there were enough clues that gave away their presence. The soft gnawing or grinding of bone against bone, or the too shrill anguished cry of an malignant soul; they were there, like little dots he connected to form a picture in his mind.

There was nothing of the sort in his shrine. Nothing unnatural, nothing _–_

"DOUMEKI!"

– nothing out of the ordinary.

He winced internally as that loud voice shattered his concentration, heavy, hurried footsteps slamming discordantly against the ground. The soft serenity that surrounded him disappeared as his eyes focused on Watanuki's approaching form.

"Here's the verse you wanted; Yuuko-san also tossed in this jar, although why she would ever do anything for _free_, I'd never know," Watanuki quickly shoved a carefully tied scroll and an ornate jar stoppered tightly with carved crystal into Doumeki's arms, as if afraid one of Yuuko's pranks and retributions might spring out at him at any moment.

Curiously, Doumeki sent the scroll aside and opened the jar, which was filled with a clear, cool liquid almost the color of pale blue quartz.

Pure water – the aura surrounding the jar matched that of the shrine – perfect for purification of shrine grounds.

"Pass on my regards to Yuuko-san, and my thanks as well," Doumeki said calmly, still staring appreciatively at the small jar. He heard the muffled half-shuffle as Watanuki shifted position and half-muttered, "you should thank _me,_ you prick; this comes at my expense only because I needed your help with my last errand for Yuuko-san. I won't be indebted to you!" Watanuki retorted that last sentence in a loud roar.

Doumeki raised his eyes slowly and smirked with that serene and enigmatic half-smile he knew drove Watanuki absolutely crazy. "Are you going to stick around? Make yourself useful, then."

He could almost hear Watanuki grinding his teeth together. "I _already_ brought you what you wanted, I-"

"Or if you can't be useful, at least be quiet."

"ARE YOU SAYING-"

"Hush." Doumeki could hear Watanuki's mouth shut with an audible click of teeth, and the indrawn breath the other took before he would screech out in fury. Quickly, Doumeki threw his hand out, liquid spilling from the jar in a wide arc.

"What are you doing?" Watanuki asked in unwilling curiosity.

Doumeki sprinkled the last few drops of water and capped the jar with a smooth hiss and tinkle of crystal against glass. "Purification ceremony," he said over his shoulder, carefully unrolling the scroll Yuuko sent, scanning the words over and nodding briefly. "Water is a natural facet of nature; it gives health and strength to the ground it touches, and takes away evil and bad luck. It's an act most shrines perform on their altars or grounds."

Watanuki scoffed at him. "And you're doing it now?"

"The time feels right," Doumeki replied, watching the liquid seep away between the stones and into the ground. "And it's time I did more than just sweep the floor each day."

And because it was in his nature to be honest, he continued softly, "I think my grandfather will appreciate it as well."

There was a long, quiet moment. "Your grandfather–" Watanuki began.

Doumeki launched immediately into the invocation, not wanting to discuss the issue, carefully reading off the unfamiliar words from Yuuko's scroll. It was suppose to be a minor spell of protection and purification, and sure enough, Doumeki could feel the power of the spell take hold, spreading to all corners of the shrine and making him hypersensitive to the very air around him. The words rolled off his tongue almost faster than he could read them, but at the same time Doumeki could feel and especially hear everything, especially the constant buzz that surrounded Watanuki and marked him as one associated with the occult.

He was surprised when Watanuki stepped forward to his side and snagged a corner of the scroll and quickly took up the chant, somehow managing to keep up. Watanuki spoke his words clearly and it was nothing like the half-garbled-screech Doumeki was used to hearing from his classmate. Watanuki had his share of spiritual power, different as it was from Doumeki's exorcist skills, and the spell virtually thrummed with the added life-force as it reached a crescendo.

They ended with soft whispers, tumbling back down to earth with their voices, their words gentling automatically as the spell took hold and faded away, sinking into the very foundations of the shrine. Doumeki turned immediately to Watanuki, pinning him with a hawk's stare.

"I hate being indebted to anyone," Watanuki answered the silent question defensively, "A favor for a favor; I don't owe you anything."

A long moment passed, the silence falling heavily between them.

"_What_?" Watanuki asked, not quite able to lapse back into irritation and snippiness in the aftermath purification spell.

Doumeki shook his head.

Although Watanuki's voice usually grated on his nerves, alternating from loud screams to irritatingly long rants, both sharply at odds with Doumeki's calm tone, this time Watanuki's voice had slipped faultlessly into the shrine ground's quiet song, bolstering the spell in complete harmony with Doumeki.

Whereas Watanuki usually shattered the peace, this time there was only calm trailing in the wake of his words.

"Nothing," Doumeki replied. "You have a nice speaking voice."

**..end..**

**More AN:** As always, reviews and con/crit are much beloved, and see you in five days.


	3. Smell

**Tantalizing the Senses  
Chapter 3 – Smell **

**AN: **One of my favorite fics in this series. Enjoy.

As always, I follow the manga as it is being released in Japan, so there will be mild spoilers – nothing overt – for up to around chapter 120. This one is set around chapter 100, which is the conclusion of the spider lady arc, just for minor references. Also, so far these shots have been somewhat similiar in theme. The next two are quite different.

_**xxxHoLiC belongs to the brilliance that is CLAMP. **_

**..smell..**

He wasn't really sure why he never noticed, but lately, Watanuki had been catching hints of a mellow sweet scent of smoke all around Yuuko's shop.

He knew where it came from, obviously. When Yuuko wasn't attached hands and lips to some container of liquor, alcohol or wine, she had her trusty pipe at hand, smoky wisps wreathing around her form as she accentuated one point or another with a flick of the instrument.

Watanuki was tempted to tell her that opium did away with many a young noble, too drowsy with its euphoric effects to notice how much life the drug withered away, but he suspected Yuuko would only flash him an enigmatic smile before indulging in her favorite vices. There was also the added fact that Yuuko had probably smoked the stuff for much longer that Watanuki had been alive and still looked at the cusp of youthful womanhood, healthy and far too vibrant for his peace of mind.

It was better to keep silent about things like that, lest Yuuko felt particularly vindictive and found some ridiculously dangerous "errand" for him to run again.

It was just that the smoke permeated _everything_, and now that Watanuki noticed it, he couldn't ignore it. He was so used the hearty smells of a meal cooking, or even the sweet chocolate scent of a dessert baking merrily away in the oven and there was always the slight buzz that alcohol gave off – it was impossible to avoid when one spent as much time as Watanuki did serving it.

Yuuko had dragged him away from the kitchen, however, and had let him loose in one of her many storage rooms with the instructions to "dust, clean, or whatever else it takes to organize this room and _don't break anything_ or it's going on your tab." He had spent the entire day chipping away at the room, dusting, rubbing down some of the more grimy artifacts and occasionally dodging a lethal chest that tried to snap shut on his wrist and an innocuously looking quill pen that glistened with poisonous red ink.

The piece of cloth he had tied around his mouth and nose in an attempt to keep the dust from clogging up his nose had failed miserably in its task.

Watanuki had caught wisps of that _damnable_ sweet smoke lingering in all corners of the room, even though the layer of dust on everything indicated just how long ago someone had even bothered to enter. It was making him slightly drowsy, and the aroma of old, heavy magic was cloying. He was sure every particle of dust was drenched in it, and didn't appreciate the itch it made in his nose, or the slight sting if any got into his eyes.

Maru and Moro had peeked in for a moment, more than willing to help with his chores, but they too had their own orders to follow, and with a few apologetic glances they had left. Watanuki could smell the faint smoke in Maru's bushy ponytail, in Moro's long skirt.

Somehow, Watanuki knew that the aroma of Yuuko's stupid opium would cling to him when he went home that night.

-----

It was Sunday afternoon, and somehow Watanuki found himself coerced into making lunch for Doumeki after the extra archery practice the other had. How he had gone from merely repaying favors to becoming the man's personal chef, Watanuki would never know, but after yet another close brush with imminent doom, saved only by a hand around his wrist, Yuuko had remarked almost flippantly that Doumeki deserved a raise, and the next thing Watanuki knew, he was catering to the other's every culinary whim. Even on _weekends_.

"It's not like you do much during the weekends," Yuuko had pointed out. "You only spend half the time at my shop, and you certainly don't receive enough homework to keep you occupied." She eyed him with the half-predatory, half-friendly gleam that always manifested when she was negotiating a transaction. "Besides, bento box lunches simply don't cut it anymore."

And just like that, his fate had been sealed.

"Did you remember the onions in the eggrolls?" Doumeki asked, taking a seat on the stairs near Watanuki, still clad in his archery uniform.

"Yes, I did. You are _so _self-centered," Watanuki retorted, wishing with all his heart that he could throw the box in his hand at Doumeki instead of putting it down before him like any civilized man.

"Hn."

It was when he was setting out the bento boxes with their carefully arranged rice, meats and eggrolls that Watanuki noticed the absolute absence of any scent. Throughout the entire weekend, Watanuki kept catching hints of that same sweetly smoky smell, even after he had washed his clothes and aired out his jacket twice.

He glanced around futilely, as if searching for the missing scent before his eyes settled on Doumeki.

Huh. Watanuki could have sworn the silly smoke still wafted around him when he sat down to wait for Doumeki earlier. He expected the smell of sweat or even the dusky powder the archers rubbed their hands down with the other's arrival, maybe, but certainly not _this_.

Perhaps he'd been staring a moment too long.

"What?" Doumeki asked him mildly, not sounding the least bit self-conscious, already digging into his meal.

It was like a whiff of pure, fresh air – literally.

"Are you checking me out?"

Those words snapped Watanuki out of his thoughts faster than lightning could strike. "Why the hell would anyone do _that_?" his voice screeched high on the last note, fighting hard to ignore the vibe of amusement that had been hinted at in Doumeki's voice.

Doumeki's only answer was one coolly raised eyebrow.

Not even bothering to grace that with a reply, Watanuki looked away, eyes darting around and finally settling on the thermos flask next to Doumeki.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Tea. One of my grandfather's favorite brews." As he spoke, Doumeki tipped some of the flask's contents into its cap, which served as cup, and handed that to Watanuki, sipping out of the flask itself before returning to his meal. "It's an equal arrangement, right? Your food for my tea."

Watanuki gazed at him steadily and bit back his almost reflex sarcastic reply. For once, he allowed the conversation to die away, breathing in the near-bitter fragrance of the tea and relishing the sharp fresh air all around him, not even minding too much that he was in Doumeki's company.

**..end..**

**More AN:** And… we have some progress with the couple! As always, reviews and con/crit are much beloved.


	4. Touch

**Tantalizing the Senses  
Chapter 4 – Touch **

**AN: **And I'm finally allowed to upload something! Apologies for this being quite a few days late – at least this one is a slightly different approach from the other three senses.

As always, I follow the manga as it is being released in Japan, so there will be mild spoilers – nothing overt – for up to around chapter 120.

_**xxxHoLiC belongs to the brilliance that is CLAMP. **_

**..touch..**

It was dark, and he was drowning… drowning… and it was cold, liquid ice wrapped around him like a lover, unyielding and impossible to ignore.

The sudden shock of the cold water had knocked the breath from his lungs, and when he opened his mouth all he tasted was water, rushing past his teeth and caressing his tongue, smooth and fluid and always cold. The liquid rapidly soaked his shoes and heavy coat, the dead weight pulling him down further into its dark embrace, inexorable as the tide. Numbly, he reached one hand towards the surface, trying to break the barrier between water and air – _was he upright, or upside down? Left, right? Weightless, dimensionless_ – but grasped nothing.

He tried to shed his coat, instinct spurring him from one action to another, but could barely feel the woolen material under his fingers, the hard, smooth curves of the buttons slipping away from his fingers until all he could feel was smooth silken liquid.

Strange, how everything turned soft and flowing underwater, brittleness and edge washed away.

_Well, fuck,_ he swore fleetingly, words that rarely passed his lips now flowing smoothly in his mind. Manners didn't really matter when one was _dying_. _I've been working for Yuuko-san all this while, dealing with her incessant demands only to go down like _this

It was a sign of how much lucidity he was losing when his final thought was not sorrow at never hearing Himawari-chan's gentle voice again, or mild contentment that he was finally going to see his parents, but –

_Yuuko-san, you never did grant my Wish_.

It wasn't fair. He wasn't even allowed to fight his own death. Although he had hovered on death's doorstep on many occasions since entering Yuuko's employment, he had always gone down _fighting_, doing something that was worthwhile.

But this… this was a silent killing, the frigid water a dark siren's song, clouding his sensibilities until all he could summon was a dull, muted regret, limbs no longer responding to his mind's sluggish commands.

_So it's my turn to do the haunting...?_

Soft waves fluctuated against his skin, and Watanuki wondered for a fleeting moment if his spirit was being pulled from his body when something solid and palpable suddenly clamped around his outreached hands, the sensation so different from the formless cold around him that his eyes snapped opened. Panic promptly swept over him, but his movements were weak, and he felt his body being pulled upwards like a limp rag doll.

Breaking back into air was like walking under sunshine after prolonged confinement indoors – suddenly everything was _there_ in overwhelmingly loud detail, and Watanuki was gulping in air and water in equal amounts in instinctive haste, vision dazed and incoherent. The only things that kept him from drowning himself with his own actions were the hands gripping on his shoulders.

He must have blacked out for a long moment, not that it was much different from the watery dark he had been trapped in moments ago. He registered a tight pain across his chest and fleeting warmth upon his lips before he lurched sideways and threw up all the water he had swallowed. He couldn't see anything, could hear nothing above the sound of his choking. The cold was still there, clinging to him incessantly except there was a hand against the small of his back, its presence burning even through Watanuki's wet clothing. Something thick – woolen and furry – was being wrapped around him, and fingers, wet but so _alive_ danced lightly around his face, pushing wet bangs out of the way as Watanuki gasped for breath.

He still couldn't sense much, his arms moving kitten-like and helpless, but Watanuki managed to throw one hand up high enough to grip his rescuer's shirt, fingers tightening thickly into the soaked material and pulling himself upwards.

There was only one person who always managed to turn up at the most opportune moments, and that was…

"Doumeki," Watanuki whispered hoarsely.

He opened his eyes and caught a glance of the other's stoic, quiet face and wasn't sure if he should be amazed or wary at how he simply _knew_ it was Doumeki.

Watanuki allowed his eyes to flutter shut, already feeling his body's adverse reactions to the whole scenario in the sharp unpleasant wheeze he could feel in his chest each time he breathed in and the way his body quaked with long shivers. Watanuki wondered what price he had to pay for this; surely it was Yuuko who sent Doumeki, right?

_No one else… would have come… _

As much as he hated it, Watanuki surged forward into that warm form, willing to forsake his antagonism if it meant escaping the cold. The other man was soaked through, of course, but Watanuki felt heat seep into him at every point of contact despite the clammy material between them. Arms wrapped immediately around him, tugging the thick warm coat around both their forms better before looping around his waist in a gentle but firm grip.

In the moment before he fell into the oblivion of sleep, Watanuki wondered if he imagined the brief tremble in Doumeki's hands.

**..end..**

**More AN:** This… is probably not as medically correct as I would like it to be. How did Watanuki manage to get himself into this predicament? Well, it's _Watanuki_, that's all I have to say.

As always, reviews and con/crit are much beloved.


	5. Taste

**Tantalizing the Senses  
Chapter 5 – Taste **

**AN: **Late again; it does seem like its the trend with me. Exams are a wonderful bundle of joy. I'm sorry I haven't been replying to the reviews I've received – I love and appreciate each and every one I receive, so thank you! I'll try my best to reply them when I have back internet connection and free time :)

As always, I follow the manga as it is being released in Japan, so there will be mild spoilers – nothing overt – for up to around chapter 120.

_**xxxHoLiC belongs to the brilliance that is CLAMP. **_

**..taste..**

"_Doumeki-kun, don't you think you and Watanuki-kun have been getting along a lot better than usual?"_

Kunogi Himawari was a sweet, pleasant girl; for all her apparent naivety and smiles, she was very perceptive when it came to matters of the heart, especially Watanuki's. Although, to be fair, Watanuki was the type who wore his heart on his sleeves – that annoying shrill voice was a distraction, of course, and Watanuki himself was quite adept at averting attention, but it was easy to discern his moods, thoughts betrayed by the glint of black eyes or the stubborn set of the chin.

It's just that Watanuki can be so incredibly infuriating at times, even though Doumeki rarely ever showed his irritation. The bespectacled boy had a clear affinity for trouble; he attracted it the way magnets tossed amongst iron fillings did. It sent a prickle of _something _crawling up Doumeki's spine every time he was forced to drag Watanuki away from some spirit's clutches, a strange mixture of resignation, mild disbelief and exasperation. It was beginning to reach the point where he wasn't surprised to see his hand shoot out in reflex reaction to pull Watanuki back from danger's way, adding a snip remark or two in hopes that the anger and irritation it aroused in the other would serve as a reminder _not _to end up in the same situation again.

"_Watanuki-kun has been less preoccupied lately; I'm glad whatever was bothering him has passed. I've been so worried about his injured eye, but now… he doesn't look as though he's being torn in two directions any longer."_

Kunogi worried greatly every time she caught sight of bandages adorning Watanuki's hands and arms, or when he bore the faded bruises from an ill-encounter. She kept the sunny smile, but her eyes, dark and bottomless, flicked immediately to Doumeki in silent beseech to watch over and keep their mutual friend safe.

Doumeki wondered how Watanuki, who was infatuated with Kunogi, failed to see just how much she cared for him. He also wondered when "Watanuki" had become synonymous with "friend."

Doumeki didn't mind Yuuko's advice that he and Watanuki stick closer together; it took a lot to ruffle Doumeki's sleek black feathers. He was so used working in his own world, surrounded but untouched by the girls who loved his looks and the boys who admired his athletic skills. His world, a world of calm, of meditation and ritualistic purification had never converged with another's until the day he shot the formless arrow to exorcise the spirits that had been clinging to Watanuki during the telling of the Hundred Ghost Stories.

"_The shop Watanuki-kun works at is very interesting, isn't it? I used to think it was so cool, especially Mokona-chan, but now, I can't help thinking it's also quite dangerous. Yuuko-san won't let anything happen, I believe, but…"_

It was never clear when he became Watanuki's designated caretaker; it just seemed so natural to take up the role after his first exorcism – the first of many times he and Watanuki had been tossed into a bizarre situation. It was a role he was familiar with; the instinctive need to protect was ingrained in his blood, as Yuuko had implied. He also couldn't hide the mild sadistic pleasure he took in jabbing and teasing Watanuki because of the sheer emotion he could goad out of the other. It was something of a fascination for Doumeki, who was too accustomed to keeping his emotions under reign.

It was those frivolous emotions that clued Doumeki into his changing view of Watanuki. There was that sharp tang of _irritation-shock-fear_ when Watanuki almost died in his stubbornness to see the spirit he had come to regard as a mother-figure and pure spicy anger when Watanuki traded in his eye to absolve the spider's grudge on Doumeki.

Each time, Doumeki could almost taste it, the palpable sour-bitterness of his emotions flooding his mouth.

Something had clicked then for him, then, but being who he was, Doumeki had kept silent, allowing those fledgling emotions to lie dormant. He portrayed the same calm, unshakable image he had always projected; never once did he really let up with the sarcastic, jabbing remarks and smirks Watanuki hated, but despite it all, Doumeki continued to watch, and he continued protect.

"_I think Watanuki-kun has been alone for a long time. I'm happy that I'm friends with both of you, but sometimes I feel as though... there are certain things that only you can do for him, Doumeki-kun."_

Until suddenly it struck him that things _had _changed, and the cue he had been subconsciously looking for was there all along, covert clues in the miraculous truce he and Watanuki had forged, a gradual understanding that theirs was a relationship of mutual equality; a kind of bizarre yin-yang connection that made no sense whatsoever.

"_There's a connection between the two of you. Yuuko-san thinks so, even though she never says it directly. Don't you feel it?"_

"Hey."

"Why are you standing in the corner like that?" Watanuki asked exasperatedly, on his way home after a day at Yuuko's shop. "And I have a _name, _you know; it wouldn't kill you to learn it."

Doumeki studied him carefully, the way Watanuki didn't quite flare up at him like a hissy-angry kitten anymore, a fluffy ball of mock teeth and claws that didn't quite manage to really sink deep enough to draw a message across. Instead, he wore a cloak of wariness with all the pretended dignity of an old gentleman cat, more willing to glare a warning and walk away than to attack.

"Are you just going to stare at my back the entire day?" Watanuki demanded, whirling around and pointing an accusing finger in Doumeki's direction. "It's _disturbing. _Spit it out, whatever's bothering you."

With a tiny, tiny inner grin, Doumeki wondered if angry Watanuki-cats could be placated with scritches.

Then he shrugged.

"You asked for it."

Doumeki gallantly pushed Watanuki off the sidewalk, ignoring the squawk of outrage – so maybe Watanuki wasn't quite the dignified cat yet – and up against a wall, kissing him hard.

It was interesting how Watanuki went shell-shocked still for a split second before thrashing wildly in Doumeki's grip. It helped that he had one arm braced against the wall, forming a virtual cage that prevented Watanuki from bolting at the first hint of Doumeki's actions. They grappled for one long moment as Watanuki started fighting for control of the kiss, using a fair amount of teeth before realizing he had other options.

Doumeki pulled back skillfully before Watanuki's heel could come down – heavily – on his foot.

"_Doumeki-kun, _you _understand, right?"_

"So. Can I call you Kimihiro now?" Doumeki asked, licking his lips and watching Watanuki very carefully.

"The hell?" Watanuki snarled, eyes flashing despite the dazed look in their depths and his glasses knocked half askew. "Only if I call you Shizuka first, you miserable excuse for a selfish idiot!"

A small smile graced the curve of Doumeki's lips. Impulsively, he ran his fingers through Watanuki's hair in a caress-scratch, as if rubbing the back of nonexistent cat ears.

"Was that a yes?"

"What the _fuck_?"

With a flick of his tongue, Doumeki tasted the syllables of Watanuki Kimihiro's name on his lips.

**..end..**

**More AN:** Written with the comment someone made about how Himawari is often ignored in Doumeki/Watanuki fics in mind. Anyhow, consider this an early Christmas present, since I'll be out of town during that time. And I really can't write a senses fic-series about xxxHoLiC and ignore the sixth sense, right? Look for that around the New Year...

As always, reviews and con/crit are much beloved. Happy Holidays!


	6. Sixth Sense

**Tantalizing the Senses  
Chapter 6 – Sixth Sense **

**AN: **Um, so it only took me a year and a half to deliver this last fic in the senses series. The half-dozen scenarios I cooked up for the sixth sense never survived because CLAMP kept trumping me with new developments in the plot line. There are mild manga spoilers for Kohane.

_**xxxHolic belongs to the brilliance that is CLAMP. **_

**..sixth sense..**

The subject of the sixth sense – extrasensory perception, or ESP – came up in the most mundane way possible: from the subsection of a textbook chapter in a special honors class in sensory and perception Himawari-chan took.

The day should be like any other, Watanuki sighed to himself, with the three of them – Himawari-chan, himself, and Doumeki – eating lunch under the shade of their favorite tree on the school grounds. He'd compliment Himawari's hair or feed Tanpopo tidbits of food, Doumeki would continue to be an annoyance and Himawari would smile at both of them.

Nowadays however, Himawari's smile was a little too knowing, and _today_ they were talking about extrasensory perception which was possibly one of Watanuki's most hated subjects, and lately, Doumeki picked up on his moods far too easily.

"What's wrong?" Doumeki's low, no-nonsense voice cut through his musings, and only then did Watanuki notice the concerned glances Himawari and Tanpopo were giving him.

"Watanuki-kun, does the subject bother you?" Himawari bit worryingly at her lip. "You can see spirits, after all; extrasensory senses are nothing special for you." Her eyes lingered briefly on Watanuki's arms – where several scars from his ghostly encounters peeked through his sleeves – before gliding away. "Doumeki-kun, Watanuki-kun's _tempura_ is really tasty, don't you think?"

"It's okay, Himawari-chan," Watanuki was quick to reassure and nudged the lacquer box of little sakura-shaped cupcakes nearer to her. "It's nothing to worry about.

From the steady, unwavering gaze Doumeki leveled at him, Watanuki knew he wasn't going to get away with just brushing it off. The worried look in Himawari's dark eyes only further sealed his fate.

Maybe things were a little different, now that his and Doumeki's relationship was… was… Watanuki struggled for a moment, before making up his mind: a little different. Just because he and Doumeki were on _slightly_ better – that is, to say, _different_ – terms didn't mean he treated Himawari any less than she deserved. He was so used to cooking his best dishes and accommodating her wishes that it felt strange to do otherwise.

Watanuki sighed, and stabbed a prawn _tempura _idly.

"Zener guessing cards, telepathy, the strange habit of knowing a little too much than one should rightfully know – my classmates covered them all in their efforts to 'figure' me out. I used to get teased a lot for my ability when I was younger, but that's in the past."

Himawari's eyebrows furrowed cutely. "How young were you?"

"Early grade school, before I figured out that not everyone could see what I saw. The other kids were awed at first, but later they just thought I just wanted the attention and was making up my sightings."

There were patches in Watanuki's early memories – if he was honest with himself, they were missing in their entirety – but this was something he was sure of, if only because it happened so often it was imprinted in his mind.

"A teacher thought I eavesdropped and cheated because of the things friendly ghosts would tell me. Other students were worried that I could read their mind." Watanuki took a vicious bite of his _tempura_. "After a while I learned to keep anything out of the ordinary to myself."

The scornful teasing and disbelieving adults were why Watanuki hated his magical sight and wished that the creatures he saw would stop following him. The deadly human-eating spirits just made it a wise wish to wish for.

"I'm sorry, Watanuki-kun," Himawari said softly, placing one slim hand above his. On her shoulder, Tanpopo gave a quiet _cheep_ of sympathy.

Watanuki nodded, and because Himawari sounded forlorn, smiled for her. "The more dangerous spirits didn't hunt me until I was older. And nowadays people are more understanding. Like you, Himawari-chan!"

He beamed at her, cheered at the memories of their time together, and Tanpopo gave an authoritative chirp as if to say _exactly _and Himawari was smiling and they were all back on secure footing.

Then Watanuki noticed that Doumeki took the last cupcake (the one he was saving for himself! And Doumeki already had two!) and the rest of lunch passed by in the usual fashion.

--

Doumeki had a way of picking up his attention without doing anything overt; he didn't hover (Doumekis don't _hover_) and they certainly didn't touch (because guys just don't do the whole touchy-feely thing very well). But Doumeki would just stand there by his side and Watanuki would feel a sort of prickle at the back of his neck that made him turn instinctively around every time.

It happened often enough that Watanuki recognized the feeling. He allowed Himawari and Tanpopo to walk beyond earshot before facing his companion.

There was a sort of steady intenseness in the way Doumeki stared at him, the kind of gaze that made Watanuki squirm on the inside despite himself.

"Are you coming to the shrine?" Doumeki asked before Watanuki could snap at him out of irritation.

Watanuki sniffed. "You already know the answer. Kohane-chan stays there, after all." He tucked the bento boxes more securely under his arm and jogged to catch up with Himawari.

--

The Ame Warashi was visiting at Yuuko's shop, which was both a good thing and a bad thing for Watanuki. Good, because it kept Yuuko from ribbing him about the whole ESP thing; bad, because the Ame Warashi had a sharper tongue than Yuuko, with less inclination to keep it sheathed (also, it was the only reason why Yuuko didn't say much; it was so much more amusing watching from a distance). News had a strange way of traveling around amongst spirits and the supernatural, and lately many eyes have been on Watanuki.

"What's so special about being able to see spirits anyway?" Ame Warashi demanded, brandishing her umbrella in his direction, almost taking out Watanuki's eye. "_I_ see them everywhere and _I_ don't go around bewailing my fate."

Watanuki resisted the urge to point out that she was a spirit herself so _of course_ she wouldn't think it strange, if only because he really couldn't afford to lose another eye. "With all due respect," he said, doing his best to smile politely, "There's nothing wrong with seeing spirits; it's just that I was teased about it when I was younger."

Ame Warashi sniffed. "We know _that_ – teased, scorned, bullied, the works. Stop grimacing," she ordered. "We heard the entire conversation."

Watanuki's eyes veered suspiciously to Yuuko, who smiled serenely behind her champagne glass. Ame Warashi rapped Watanuki on the head with her umbrella. "Pay attention! We want those cupcakes you baked for that frilly-haired girl, by the way, they looked tasty."

Watanuki rubbed at his temple and willed his headache to stay at bay. "Is there a point to this?" he asked warily.

The rain spirit ignored the question. "What you need," she said darkly, "is not this so-called sixth sense, but just a good dose of good old common sense. Humans lack proper instincts." She glared at his right eye as if it was a personal affront to her, and threw herself gracefully into the cushion beside Yuuko, somehow curling up all her limbs into a prim sitting position.

Watanuki glowered at the barely-muffled laughter Yuuko failed to hide behind one hand, and vowed to put vinegar in the Ame Warashi's batch of cupcake batter.

--

Yuuko sent Watanuki away early to prevent Ame Warashi from destroying the shop in her attempt to commit watery revenge for the vinegary cupcakes, which meant Watanuki made it to Doumeki's place in time for tea.

It also meant Watanuki made it in time to catch the end of Doumeki's recount of Himawari's extrasensory perception class topic. Doumeki had to stuff his fingers in his ears to save his eardrums from Watanuki's scream of outrage.

"She wanted to know what we did at school today. This was one of the more interesting topics," Doumeki stared pointedly down at Kohane-chan's uplifted face as if to say _you wanted her to be happy – well, this makes her happy_.

Watanuki glanced at Kohane, her hair bound into two long braids and a tiny hint of a smile on her lips, and immediately deflated. _Fine_, he glared at Doumeki, _you win_, and pretended not to see Doumeki's smirk of triumph by fawning over the teapot in Kohane's hands.

"Sight, smell, sound, touch and taste," Kohane recited, "and the sixth sense. I wonder why only a selected few have that extra sense."

"It's a nuisance, that's what it is," Watanuki barely kept his frown from degenerating into a downright scowl. "I know we've met our fair share of the goodly spirits, but it's still a pain." He glanced sideways at Kohane, trying to gauge her expression. Out of the two of them, Kohane had suffered the most social repercussions from her _other_ sight and exorcist skills.

"Actually," Doumeki interjected calmly, "what you and Kohane-chan have is supernatural sight. And since it is tied to sight, it can't – technically, at least – be ESP."

Watanuki glared. "And just why not? The sixth sense is anything that doesn't have to do with the five normal senses. And my ability to see ghosts and other things is _not_ normal."

Doumeki accepted the tea Kohane poured with a slight nod of thanks. "Extrasensory perception is defined as the ability to acquire information through any means independent of human physical senses or prior experience." He tilted his head back slightly to look up at Watanuki, his face devoid of either a smirk or knowing smile and merely housing a bland expression. "You see spirits; that's a heightened form of sight. I suppose you have five and a half senses."

Doumeki picked up the last butter cookie and ate it in three bites, pausing between each crunch to stare at Watanuki gaping like a goldfish.

"You— you--!" Watanuki spluttered. _I _cannot _believe you just said that with a straight face!_

"Now excuse me, I have duties to perform." Doumeki downed his tea, nodded in Kohane's direction and walked off towards the shrine.

Watanuki tipped his head to the sky and muttered curses under his breath.

"It's like love, isn't it?"

Watanuki blinked and pulled his attention away from his surroundings. "Kohane-chan?"

Kohane's blue eyes clouded slightly as if she were distracted with a complex puzzle. She glanced up when Watanuki hovered over her, instinctively schooling her face into one of calm and maturity. Watanuki heaved an inner sigh – years of being under the spotlight and facing the pressures of upholding her mother's expectations have left their mark on her. There was no use dwelling on it; all Watanuki could do now was do his best to tease as many smiles from Kohane-chan as possible.

And one day, he'd work his way up to hearing pure, heartfelt laughter from her.

But meanwhile, what was that about love?

"Kohane-chan," Watanuki asked in the scandalized tone of an overprotective elder brother, "you haven't… fallen, for anyone, have you?" Oh gods, when did she have time to do so? She didn't attend school, and the only guys Kohane meet on a regular basis was himself...

.. and Doumeki …

"No," Kohane answered, just in time to stop Watanuki from having a seizure, "What you and Shizuka-kun talked about earlier. The sixth sense."

"It's like love?" Watanuki frowned and stole Doumeki's seat. "How'd you get to that conclusion?"

"Kimihiro-kun, why do you like Himawari-san?"

It was a strange question, but Watanuki didn't hesitate to answer. "There's just something about her. Her smile, the way she ties her hair up in the cutest hairstyles. The way she lights up a room when she enters, the way she looks at people without judging them. The way she just seems to understand people."

Kohane nodded, folding her hands together on her lap. "The connections between two people: it isn't something everyone can explain. We can name a number of physical attributes and personality traits we like about someone, but sometimes it's intangible."

She smiled suddenly, a tiny, shy smile; like the unexpected break of dawn through a cloud-filled sky, it was beautiful. "When I first met you, Kimihiro-kun, I knew. That we'd be friends and that you were someone I wanted to know. Wasn't it the same for you?"

"Yes," Watanuki muttered, staring at the younger girl, and wondering just how differently she saw the world. Yuuko might have taken Kohane's exorcist skills, but Kohane's most precious ability lay elsewhere. "There's a bond between us, and I, for one, am glad for it."

Kohane dipped her head, allowing her long hair to shield her face briefly, still at odds with such proclamations. "Thank you," she said, and in her words were an echoed _me too_.

--

Kohane spent a long, long moment gazing up at Doumeki's face as he washed and she dried the dishes from dinner. Kohane hid her feelings well, but Doumeki was a master at it; not even his eyes betrayed his thoughts. He simply held the crystal blue plate suspended in the air, excess water dripping first in rivulets, then steady droplets.

Then Kohane blinked and that strange moment dissipated like a bubble in midair.

"Kimihiro-kun is outside alone. I can finish the rest of the dishes." She took the plate and bent over it, swiping her drying cloth meticulously over the entire surface.

Doumeki raised an eyebrow. He carefully wiped down his hands, patted Kohane's hair twice and left without comment.

Watanuki's squawks of outrage over Doumeki's interruption of whatever he was doing echoed in the kitchen a short minute later. Kohane smiled.

--

Watanuki lay staring up at the ceiling; over the past few weeks, the wooden beams had become a familiar sight. For safety, he now resided full time at Yuuko's shop, but on the days where Watanuki stayed past sunset visiting Kohane-chan, both Yuuko and Doumeki deemed it prudent that he passed the night at Doumeki's. Watanuki, as Yuuko was fond of pointing out, was quite safe as long as he stayed put in Doumeki's presence.

Doumeki was cat-footed silent as he padded around the room; only the soft rustle of fabric and the miniscule dip and give on the futon's surface betrayed his presence. It was a ritual by now, one Watanuki had come to terms with. Every night, Doumeki set up wards and sealed them within a protective barrier around their futons, despite all the security staying in a shrine already provided.

He knew Doumeki finished his last duties when cold fingertips brushed against the sides of his face. Those fingers lingered briefly at his temples, and as they swept away they took his glasses with them. Watanuki didn't really need them, but wearing his glasses were a comfort nonetheless. The sharper images they offered could mean a crucial second's warning of a deadly spirit when Doumeki attention was elsewhere.

Watanuki turned his head to the side. His left eye picked up nothing but blurry edges in the dark, but to his right eye, those same blurs crystallized into Doumeki's face, as if it recognized its true owner no matter what the circumstances.

Watanuki closed his eyes and flailed a fist randomly, managing to catch Doumeki in the chest, if the soft _ouff_ was any indication. "I have no idea how 'we' work," he mumbled, "I have no idea why a 'we' even exists at all. Except that there _is_ a 'we'."

"Well," came the dry reply, "it's obviously a miracle." Two fingers tapped against Watanuki's forehead in rapid succession. Watanuki scrunched his eyebrows and blindly swatted at the offending hand.

"Or," Doumeki's voice said into his ear, breath feathering across Watanuki's cheek, "You have a sixth sense that tells you, if you'd rather. Because you aren't smart enough to figure it out otherwise."

Watanuki's temper snapped. "Why you--!" he screeched, jerking to a sitting position, and avoided slamming his head against Doumeki's only due to the latter's speedy retreat. Watanuki groped around for his glasses before giving them up for a lost cause, and settled for glaring at the half-blurry shape that was Doumeki.

And because Doumeki was still snickering away, Watanuki shut him up in the most effective way he knew, with lips, tongue and a tackle that drove Doumeki flat on his back on the futon.

His vision was full of Doumeki's black hair, and he could hear the wind whistling outside above the roar of his and Doumeki's heartbeat. Doumeki's skin was salty, smooth and warm, and he carried that cold, pure scent that marked him as _Doumeki_.

And maybe noticing all these things was suppose to be a sign, but Watanuki didn't need any of it to know that what they had and shared was theirs and theirs alone.

**..end..**

**AN:** To those who have been waiting for this, thank you for sticking with me until the end. It's been an interesting journey trying to puzzle out the Doumeki/Watanuki relationship.

Reviews and con/crit are much beloved.


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